Howard Albaugh

History
Howard Albaugh (b: July 20, 1985) is a former Off Topic Baseball Association pitcher. He played from 2009 through 2028 for the Fort Collins Owls, London Imperial Swine, and the New York Empire.

Albaugh was drafted by the Fort Collins Owls in the inaugural draft of 2004 as a prospect. He debuted in 2009, posting a 22-7 record with a 1.26 ERA (which remains an all-time OTBA season record), winning the Nolan Ryan Award and Super Newbie Award. He also won the pitching triple crown that year by leading the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts. Albaugh would go on to win five total pitching triple crowns: 2009, 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2021.

After the 2021 season, Albaugh became the only player in OTBA history to win five Nolan Ryan Awards.

On June 24, 2026, Albaugh became the only player in OTBA history to record 300 wins.

On September 07, 2026, Albaugh became the only player in OTBA history to record 4500 strikeouts.

Albaugh played a total of 20 seasons in the OTBA, including 15 with London, four with Fort Collins, and one with New York.

Trade
In 2013, Albaugh was involved in one of the most prominent trades in OTBA history. The London Imperial Swine traded Clinton Holt, two first round draft picks, and a second round draft pick to the Fort Collins Owls in exchange for Albaugh. Albaugh was nearing the end of his rookie contract at the time of the deal, but London went on to sign Albaugh to a six-year contract extension at $8.1 million per year. This prompted then-commissioner BleedingCubbyBlue to remark, "What a steal."

Legacy
Albaugh had a carer record of 321-188, an ERA of 2.79, and recorded 4,607 strikeouts. He retired as the all-time OTBA leader in wins, games started for a pitcher, innings pitched, and strikeouts.

Albaugh is recorded as having turned in the two highest season pitching win share totals in the league during the Catobase era from 2004-2014: 34.3 win shares in 2009 and 30.3 in 2014.

Albaugh was 32 years old when the OTBA went from Catobase history records to in-game records. After that point, he led the league in VORP two seasons (2017-18) and finished in the top 10 a total of 7 times, the final time coming in 2026 (54.5 VORP at age 41). Albaugh's 98.7 VORP in 2017 remains an OTBA single-season record.

He recorded seven seasons of 20+ wins and 16 seasons of 14+ wins.

After retiring in 2029, Albaugh was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2032 during his first year of eligibility.

Howard Albaugh Player Page